Unlike its barnstorming run to last year’s GFNL premiership, St Mary’s has the luxury in 2026 of the double chance after finishing with the minor premiership.
However, co-coach Luke Rayner says the Saints, who posted an impressive 16-2 win-loss record home-and-away record, are treating their second semi-final meeting with South Barwon like a knockout match.
“We treat this very much as an elimination final,” Rayner said. “That’s the mentality, that’s the mode that we’re setting with the player group.
“We want them to be really hungry and get after it.
“If we can produce somewhere near our best, and that’s good enough on the day and gets the result, great.
“If for whatever reason it doesn’t, then we move on to the following week.
“Pretty simple, pretty basic, pretty calm approach to it all, and we just trust the player group; they’ve been there, and they’ve done it before, so they know what it’s about.
“They just got to get to work now.”
St Mary’s won both meetings with South Barwon during the home-and-away season.
They held off a final quarter charge from the Swans to win by 12 points in Round 9.
In Round 13, the Saints used a six-goal third-quarter burst to come away from McDonald Reserve with a 17-point victory.
“We know it’s going to be a really competitive game,” Rayner said.
“As I’ve said on the record before, I don’t think there’s much between the top few sides.
“They’re a really consistent team. They’re a strong team. They play a lot of contested footy. We know that.
“We understand that it’s a four-quarter performance is what it’s going to take from the player group and we need a really even performance across the 22.”
Aside from star young ruck Fletcher Hughes, who will feature for Port Melbourne in its VFL preliminary final against Geelong on Sunday, defender Ryan Pendlebury (Geelong AFLW coaching duties) and emerging midfielder Elliot MacDonald (scaphoid), St Mary’s is close to full strength.
Captain Jack Blood and fellow premiership players Sam Bourke, Keidan Rayner, Elijah Wales and Chris Jansen will return.
With Hughes unavailable and Mackenzie Butcher serving the second match of a two-game suspension for an incident in the win over St Mary’s in Round 20, young ruck Tom Myers has been promoted for his third senior game.
Hamish Tana, Harry Segrave, Henry Cook and Charlie Vallelonga have been omitted.
Rayner says the Saints coaching staff has full faith in Myers, who will battle South star Ben Kellett.
“He’s no different to a Fletcher Hughes, really,” Rayner said.
“He’s a young kid. They don’t worry too much about who the opposition are. They don’t worry too much about the names and all that sort of element.
“They really only know one thing, and that’s to use their rawness and their attributes and just go out and have a good old crack at it, and Tommy will do that for us on the weekend.”
South Barwon has lodged one change, recalling the experienced Kelly O’Neil at the expense of big man Aaron Vickey.
Newtown & Chilwell has lost Dan Lowther to concussion and Jett Modola to a lower leg injury ahead of its first semi-final clash with Bell Park at West Oval.
The Eagles, who are looking to avoid consecutive straight-sets finals exits, have included co-captain Luke Maddock, Gennaro Bove, Archer Harkness, Charlie Field and Logan Morey in their squad.
Maddock, Bove, Harkness and Field all played reserves last week, with Morey hoping to return from a back injury that has sidelined him since Round 15.
The Dragons will finalise their team on Saturday.
They will have to replace Mak Lavis, who suffered a broken arm and dislocated wrist in the elimination final victory over St Joseph’s.
The Corowa-Rutherglen recruit underwent surgery on Thursday to repair the damage.
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